I’m thinking of planning a family trip to Japan this spring and although I’ve been there once before, I wanted to get more ideas on where to go. I ended up on YouTube and I found myself watching a bunch of videos by an adorable couple, Rachel and Jun since they did a series where they traveled around Japan. (I’ve also been a fan of Jun’s cooking channel for a while.)

At one point, I decided to watch some of their other videos, one of which featured Jun doing Rachel’s makeup with hilarious results. Rachel apparently got her revenge in another video when she did Jun’s makeup. (Video below…)

Rachel was definitely better at putting on makeup but the results were quite surprising. I guess by enhancing his features and making him look more round and smooth, Jun ended up with a face that looked surprisingly like Yuzuru Hanyu. Here’s a screenshot along with a picture of Yuzu:

Do you see the resemblance? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @RinksideCafe

As well, wonderful readers, have any of you been to Japan or live in Japan? I’m thinking of focusing my trip mostly in the Kyoto and Tokyo areas around cherry blossom season. What places do you recommend visiting or eating? Please let me know in the comments! Any help in planning for this vacation would be much appreciated! As well, where can I find all the products with Yuzu and Mao that everyone keeps talking about?

2016 was rough so I’m sure people are happy that they’re turning the page. As always, I feature an up and coming skater on New Year’s Day here and this year, I actually had my pick ready for months.

Midway through the Grand Prix series, I stumbled upon a video of Jun Hwan Cha. Admittedly, I was curious of skaters coming out of South Korea as I wondered if Yuna Kim’s success has done anything to increase the sport’s popularity among young people there. Having lived in Hong Kong for a year, I know how hard it is to foster a sport like figure skating in a place where it’s not part of the local culture. Space is precious in most Asian countries as most people live in densely packed cities in tiny apartments. I didn’t realize how spoiled I was, growing up with two neighbourhood rinks run by the city, free to use by anyone who owned skates.

According to an article in the December 2016 International Figure Skating Magazine, Cha doesn’t have any idols but he does train with Brian Orser, which bodes well for his jumps and skating skills. It was also interesting to see him use Yuzuru’s difficult entry into the 3A in his LP this season. He can’t compete in Pyeongchang 2018 but the future looks bright for this young man.

Here’s a a lovely 2017! To everyone, I hope that you have a safe and prosperous new year!